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Good reviews from readers hearten writers

I’m writing, I’m writing. Except for this week which has been very tough for my family. And, since I started the draft of this post, the flu – which hit me like the meteor that extinguished the dinosaurs, and which I seemed to manage to catch at the EYE DOCTOR’S office, the only time I left the house in forever; waiting with husband, while all around me before and after that remained healthy. ‘To those who have, more is given.’

I spend time every month looking for ways to reach new readers, and connected with D. R. Rose on Goodreads. He was kind enough to write a review I’m still catching my breath from.

He’s recommended Pride’s Children to people who might like it, and also suggested other people to approach.

Because he seemed to understand it so well, and because he gave me permission to use his words, here is the latest review, from D. R. Rose (italics his):

“It was amazing

How highly can I praise this book without looking like a sycophant?

And, why are we having to wait for the next part of the story???

Elegant literary fiction which is also literate, modern, gripping, and extraordinarily entertaining, to label the subject matter a ‘love triangle’ would be like daubing the Taj Mahal with graffiti.

Alicia Ehrhardt takes the reader into the persons of Kary, Andrew and Bianca by turns, and uses this approach with consummate skill to construct characters whom one comes to know, dare I say this? rather better than one knows one’s spouse, or significant other. She does this better than any other author I have yet read. The plot is more than character-driven; there is a sense in which the plot is the characters.

The pace is unhurried, almost meditative at times. By contrast, the tension is considerable, and the reader is kept in suspense all the way to the disappointing end. I have to call it disappointing because Ms. Ehrhardt has clearly planned the whole story across a trilogy, and this is therefore only the first part. Disappointing, because by the time one reaches the end of this first book, one is aching for resolution. Well, I was, at least.

The writing itself is beautiful, witty, and considered. I felt at times that every word had been weighed. Ms. Ehrhardt has created characters of rare power and beauty, whose natures result in relationships of living, breathing complexity. Beside the central three, other characters look quite flat – and yet, they are as developed as most good authors’ central protagonists. The settings and situations are fully realised, being founded upon either the author’s own experience or diligent, exhaustive research. I can’t tell which. Ha!

I cannot recommend this book, this trilogy, highly enough – but not to everyone. This is a book for readers who appreciate literary fiction and a very deeply developed romance with a thoughtful debate on ethics. I believe the pace and the delayed gratification will frustrate many modern romance readers who look for fast-burning romance, titillation, and simple love stories. However, if you are a reader who will appreciate a modern ‘Jane Eyre‘, this trilogy is for you.”